Podcast: Republicans Forge Ahead With Agenda In Iowa Legislature

ByJeff Stein and Lyle Muller |February 13, 2017

The Iowa House floor during a break on Jan. 10, 2017, after hearing Gov. Terry Branstad's annual Condition of the State Address.

The Iowa Legislature is less than a month away from the first deadline limiting bills that can be passed this session.

Republicans, armed with firm control of the House, Senate and governor’s office, came to the Statehouse in January with several proposals Democrats could block when they controlled the Senate in the last legislative session:

Increasing state spending for K-12 education 1.1 percent while talking about education reform.

Lyle Muller/IowaWatch

The Iowa Statehouse on Jan. 10, 2017.

Meanwhile, the Legislature quickly cut $118 million in previously approved spending for this fiscal year, which ends June 30.

The effect each of these decisions has can be dramatic; courts in Iowa, for example, will be closed May 26 because of the budget cuts. How voters react in the next election cycle in 2018 remains to be seen. For now, though, Republicans are operating on the message they heard in the 2016 election.

Appearing in this podcast of the IowaWatch Connection radio report are:

Related Series

The IowaWatch Connection, a statewide audience engagement program, is sponsored by the Iowa State Bar Association. This program involves developing a weekly, statewide news and public affairs radio program and series of community forums that reach a broader audience for the stories IowaWatch reports. Catch up with our latest developments here.

Read Next

Iowa’s pending college graduates are looking for jobs but the Class of 2017 will enter a relatively flat job market for the fourth straight year, the National Association of College and Employers reports.